LibraryPlus

From Monday 4th September, our
libraries will be working in a whole new way with the start of
self-service hours through LibraryPlus at Bedford Central, Bromham
and Wootton Libraries.

Our libraries are a fantastic local service
where you can meet with family and friends, browse the stock,
borrow books, use a PC or access free Wifi, and these changes will
see library opening hours increasing by over 40 hours overall,
including Bedford Central Library opening on Sundays.

Residents can sign-up for LibraryPlus now and
there’s already been a lot of interest, with several hundred people
signing up in the first week alone! Once signed-up, people will be
able to use the libraries through a mixture of staffed and
self-service hours, when you can use your library card and a PIN to
enter the library.

Now that LibraryPlus is nearly here there’s
even more reason to get involved. It’s really easy, just pop into
one of the LibraryPlus libraries and speak to a member of
staff.

Cllr Sarah Holland, Portfolio Holder for
Leisure and Culture said “I am delighted at the positive response
LibraryPlus has had in our libraries so far, with current and new
library users signing up to LibraryPlus. I know this is a big
change to how our libraries operate, but with the financial
pressure the Council is facing this change will allow us to
continue to keep every single one of our libraries open while
making the necessary savings.”

The new opening hours and more information
about LibraryPlus are available at www.bedford.gov.uk/LibraryPlus.
During the extensive consultation it became clear that Kempston and
Putnoe Library users felt that LibraryPlus wasn’t suitable for
those branches, so there will be some reduction in opening hours
instead, to make the necessary savings.